“The Hawaii Visitors Bureau has sent out an SOS for a fur parka and fur mittens. Seems the Waikiki Lions are flying a plane load of snow to Waikiki beach Saturday afternoon from Mauna Loa to stage their annual snowball fight between bathing beauties.”
“The HVB wants to put Hawaii’s Snow Queen, Illeana Satterlee, in a park and mittens to use in National Publicity.” (Honolulu Advertiser, March 25, 1953)
“A dimpled, dark eyed Illeana Alaumoe Satterlee will reign as Hawaii’s 1953 snow queen this Saturday at the Waikiki Beach winter carnival sponsored by the Lions Clubs.”
“The 19 year old University of Hawaii sophomore was crowned yesterday by former Governor Stainback at a Honolulu Lions Club luncheon.”
“Judges included Mr Stainback and Senators Kazuhisa Abe, Tom T Okino, William J Nobriga, Wendell F Crockett and Herbert KH Lee.”
“The judges said politics did not enter into the task of choosing a queen from a field of 14 University of Hawaii coeds.”
“The named as her attendants Katherine Tomoko Sugiyama of Kohala, Hawaii, and Barbara Joan Friedlander of Kauai.”
“Miss Satterlee is the daughter of Mr and Mrs Julian A Satterlee of 612 Kaulani Way, Kailua. She is a graduate of Kamehameha School for Girls and is a sophomore university student majoring in psychology.”
“Lions will square off in front of the Moana Hotel for a snow fight using snow flown in from Mauna Kea. And Miss Satterlee and her attendants will add beauty to the event.” (Star-bulletin, March 25, 1953)
Snow was “assembled in piles from the summit slopes of 13,680-foot Mauna Loa by workers from Kulani prison farm and Mauna Loa boys school through cooperation of Charles Smith, farm superintendent, and Ishmael Manus, school superintendent.”
“Approximately 27 cubic feet of snow will be packed in six ice cream shipping jackets, This will be in cold storage over night, and early Saturday morning will be dispatched by local Lions via the first Hawaiian Airlines plane to Honolulu. (Hawaii Tribune Herald, March 27, 1953)
It seems the Hawaii Snow Queen is not the first such queen to Waikiki. “From the snowbanks and wintry fields of Minnesota to the coral sands of Waikiki, by plane, will be the experience soon of a lucky young woman from the middle northwest.”
“She’ll change from a fur coat huddle at St Paul to basking on the beach or riding through tropic jungles.”
“Beverly Prazak was chosen Snow Queen of the 1952 St Paul’s Winter Carnival. She will meet descendants of real kings and queens of Hawaii and attend a luau.”
“The Queen of Snows will have a weeks whirl of excitement in St Paul and Minneapolis and elsewhere before boarding a plane for Hawaii.” (Star-bulletin, December 24, 1951)
